


what if it's us?

by shadowstint



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Keith and Pidge are BFFs, M/M, a lot of miscommunications, dancer!lance, he's more of a cheerleader tho, idk how to tag, librarian!pidge, soulmate au where people receive the same injuries and pain as their soulmate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-05-02 02:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14534649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowstint/pseuds/shadowstint
Summary: "When are you going to tell him?""Never. Let him find out on his own." Besides, how was she supposed to tell him? 'Hey, we're soulmates, I'm the reason why you have those back aches.' or 'Thanks for the bruises, dude.'Would he believe her? Would he even be happy to know it was her? Pidge had seen Lance flirt with people in the library multiple times. She knew his type and it wasn't nerdy girls with a 13 year old boy's body.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> excuse me while i water my plance.

The first time they met, they didn't know immediately. But Pidge, being the natural observer that she was, was the first one to notice a hint.

"Uhm, hey." Called a guy with slightly high pitched voice, tapping her shoulder lightly as she finished arranging some books on the library shelf.

She turned to him with a tired expression. Though, she didn't miss how an unfamiliar warmth suddenly bloomed in her chest when she met his gaze. They were blue, his eyes. A charming, ocean blue. For some unknown reason, her heart started beating faster than it should while all the scars and little bruises on her body tingled in a strange way.

Pidge paused for a second, trying to comprehend and understand what this strong feeling actually was. She seemed to be the only one between them who felt it. Though, it might just be her imagination, she swore she saw his eyes widened a bit when they met her hazel ones.

Shrugging internally, she came with a quick hypothesis that it was only just the heat making her body react very weirdly. "Can I help you?" Pidge finally asked the lanky guy.

"You're a student librarian right?"

"Obviously."

"Can you help me find this book? I can't remember the title but it's orange!"

Her mind was sent reeling as she wore a puzzled expression. Was this guy serious? She never thought she would encounter an elementary in a college student's body. These type of people were in a very nice rank in Pidge's most annoying people list.

She let out a sigh. "What type of book is it?"

"An anatomy one."

"Follow me." He did when the girl then started walking to the STEM isle.

Sound of their footsteps filled the library. It was a saturday evening, the place wasn't as busy as any other week. Students of Altea University didn't usually have a lot of classes on saturdays. Though, there were still a few groups of people roaming around, like the usual academic prodigies who liked to finish their homeworks and projects earlier than everyone else, the novel fans who would read harry potter religiously everyday, and some couples making out behind the tallest shelves. Oh Pidge hated those. Was it really that hard to keep their library kinks to themselves? Apparently not for she could already hear lips smacking from when they passed the fiction aisle.

"Is that even allowed?" The guy behind her asked quietly, though it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Nope." She replied, turning to the STEM aisle and started looking for a book with a certain bright color.

"Aren't you gonna stop them?"

"Too lazy to. Besides that'd be so awkward."

"True."

As soon as their small talk ended, her eyes finally landed on the third shelf where an orange calculus book stood out. Her short arms reached for the object and showed it to the person beside her. "Is this what you're looking for?"

His eyes squinted as he took the book from her hand. "I think so." Moving it closer to his face, he examined the cover.

That was the moment Pidge saw it. Two bandaids were on this guy's right arm close to his elbow. They were placed very similarly to where she had two fresh cuts from yesterday when she crawled under her bed to reach for her lost game boy, her arm accidentally landing on a rough surface.

The concept of every person having a soulmate that would receive the same injuries and physical pain as them was very fascinating to Pidge, but she never really cared for finding her own. Her soulmate didn't actually gave her a lot of wild bruises, cuts, or injuries as a child. But things changed horribly when she went to college.

On her first year, she started getting a lot of small bruises on her knees and slight pain on her limbs for no reason. She thought perhaps her soulmate joined a sports team or something. She got really curious at some point, desperate to know what the hell her soulmate was up to that they had to have a shit ton of bruises. Thankfully, the injuries started to appear less when she hit her second year of college. Though, the curiosity never left.

"Yup. This is it." The guy in front of her smiled once again. "Thanks..." His eyes quickly looked at her name tag and added "Katarina."

"Don't."

"What should I call you then?"

"Nothing. I don't even know you."

"I'm Lance. Might as well introduce ourselves, you're probably going to see me here a lot for a few weeks." There was a hint of stress in his voice, making her remember that it was almost the end of the first semester. He was probably one of those students who treated libraries like their second home when loaded with a shit ton of school projects to do.

"Wow. Productive."

"Yeah, I'm pretty studious." She could hear the sarcasm. "Anyway, see you around, Katarina."

Lance gave her another kind smile before he turned around and walked away, giving Pidge a good look on the bandaids on his arm once again.

Crossing her arms, she gave the similar cuts she had with him a gentle stroke using her fingers.

It could just a be a coincidence. It was very common for people to have cuts and bruises below their elbows. She didn't want to assume that quickly.

He couldn't be.

* * *

 

She would never take the pleasure of slouching for granted ever again. Pidge, for the umpteenth time this week, fell asleep on her study table back at her apartment earlier today. She was only supposed to take a quick nap but ended up sleeping for the whole afternoon. Now, she couldn't even look down without her neck and upper back feeling as though they had been burned with acid from the inside. She didn't miss a class though, that was a good thing.

"You okay, Pidge?" The guy across her, Hunk, asked with genuine concern when he noticed her oddly good posture and the discomfort in her expression.

Hunk was Pidge's physics partner. The two decided to work on their paired homework at the campus library, an hour before Pidge's shift started. "I'm okay. It's just– my back kinda hurts."

"What happened?"

"Took a nap in a very uncomfortable position, that's all."

"Want some pain killers? I think I have some in my bag."

She smiled with gratitude. He was as caring as ever. "No, it's fine. I already took one. But thanks, Hunk."

Just as they were about to go back to their work, the library was bombarded with a familiar obnoxious voice. "Hunk!– Oh hey, Katarina." Shushes and groans filled the room as all eyes fell on who caused the disturbance.

"Sorry." Lance whispered, suddenly being aware of where he was.

"You guys know each other?" Hunk asked quietly as Lance approached them.

"No." She said. "Yes." He said.

The one who told the truth was him. Lance wasn't kidding when he said he and Pidge would be seeing each other more often in the library starting last week. Every night he would be greeting her, wherever corner of the library she was, with that bright smile of his. Sometimes he would come with his friends for a group study, sometimes he was with his group mates for a project, but usually he would come alone to borrow some textbooks.

It had been almost two weeks since he started his daily visit. He never missed a night, and every night he would always find something new to talk about. Pidge never really liked human interaction, especially with strangers. Lance on the other hand, seemed to love initiating small talks with everyone, even with Pidge who looked small yet very intimidating and tired of everybody's shit 24/7.

It was annoying at first, but she got used to it very quickly. He just wouldn't stop until he'd get even the slightest acknowledgement. Every night she'd learn something new about him for he was very talkative.

Lance was a nursing student, had a pet cat named blue, loved rain, grew up with a lot of siblings, and apparently he had a one direction phase. Pidge learned all of these in just two weeks of daily small talks. She wouldn't admit it but she would love to learn more.

"Hunk, can I borrow your keys?"

The big guy sighs. "Lost yours again?"

Lance scratched the back of his head, letting out a few nervous laughs. "Yeah. I'll try to find it later. Please?"

Hunk then gave what seemed to be his apartment key to him with his famous disappointed face.

"You're Hunk's roommate?" She asked Lance. "That explains his lack of sleep."

"Hey." The loud mouth whined with a pout.

"So are you guys friends?" Hunk asked once again as Lance sat down beside him, carefully keeping his posture straight and perfect as if he was one slouch away from breaking his back.

"Yes." He said. "Acquaintances." She said.

Putting his hand on his chest, Lance gasped dramatically. "Katarina, c'mon. I've told you some of my deepest secrets, we're not just acquaintances."

"You having a harry styles fan account when you were 15 isn't a deep secret. Also, can you please stop calling me that?"

"You haven't told me your nickname yet."

"It's Pidge." Hunk interrupted.

"Hunk!" Pidge whisper shouted, looking very betrayed.

"What? You said you didn't want him to call you Katarina. And same, cause you don't look like a Katarina."

A sigh. "Only my friends can call me Pidge, though."

Lance let out a victorious chuckle. "Well, I'm your friend now. Deal with it, Pidge."

The blue eyed wore a proud smile after finally calling her by her nickname for the first time, as if it was some kind of achievement. Like a promotion but in Pidge's life. The room then went silent– well, it became a little more quiet with Lance's mouth shut –after a few seconds of unimpressed staring from Pidge.

The silence made their senses focus more on their surroundings. Pidge could hear pages turning, pencils on paper, and quiet chatters. The lighting of the place made it easier to read but the mood just screamed sleep. The smell of books and wood helped her mind relax. Though, the random smell of mint was so strong that it hurt her nose. Where was it coming from anyway?

"What is that smell?" Hunk asked what she was about to.

"Yeah, it's so... minty." She added.

"Oops. Uh, it's salonpas. I put some on my back and neck, hopefully to ease the pain."

Hunk spoke. "Something happened in dance practice again?"

A brow of hers lifted curiously. "Dance practice?"

"He's part of our university's dance team."

"I sure am! We're more like a pep squad though, we do a lot of awesome stunts. But no, nothing happened during practice. Or to me in general."

"So... it's your soulmate's?" Pidge found herself asking, the thought of their similar elbow cuts flashing through her mind, causing her heart rate to rise a little.

"Yup. I'd always feel back and neck aches whenever exams are near, and finals are coming up, I bet my soulmate's back with their over studying BS. They probably never sleep, or they do but not comfortably. God, I can't wait to meet them so that I could tell them how unhealthy over studying is. Don't they know prioritizing studies over health isn't always good cause–" Pidge couldn't even focus on Lance's little rant as the cogs in her brain worked to make the conclusion for her hypothesis.

Their similar cuts, the small bruises on her knees that would appear out of nowhere and the slight pain on her limbs that she would feel for no reason, Lance being part of a dance team that did a lot of stunts, him having back aches whenever there were exams, a time where her studious ass was on it's peak, always ending up sleeping on her desk.

Realization hit her like a space ship crashing on land. Suddenly it all made sense. She knew that it was possible because of the elbow cuts she saw on him when they first met. But these connections just proved her assumptions were right after all. There was no denying it.

Lance was her soulmate.

Oh god... Lance was her soulmate.

The cute guy that had been trying to befriend her– and succeeding –for weeks was the person the universe was telling her she should be with.

Wait.

Did she just thought Lance was cute?

Oh no.

There was just too much to take in. Pidge's hands started sweating as Lance finished his rant. "I've said this multiple times but I just can't wait to meet my soulmate, and take care of them because they clearly aren't taking care of themselves that well." His eyes met hers and his face soften at her shocked expression. "You okay there, Pidge?"

"Huh?" She finally zoned in. "Y-Yeah. Just fine." When she gave Hunk a glance, she immediately noticed the obvious grin that was forming on his face. Bless him, it was clear that he was trying to hide it, but he was failing so bad.

From the looks of it, Hunk also figured it out. She shook her head very slightly. _Don't tell him yet._

Lance did not seem to notice Pidge giving Hunk a begging expression for he said. "Mmkay. If you say so." He stood slowly, again keeping his posture as to not hurt his back even more. "I'll be resting in our dorm for a bit before practice starts. See ya guys later!" He walked out of the library humming a mess of tunes, like some kind of a remix. Probably, a song their dance team used for a routine.

Pidge let out a sigh of relief when he was finally out of sight. Though the tension in her breathing came back as soon as she faced Hunk.

"So..." He said a little too enthusiastically. "My flirty roommate and my snarky physics partner. A perfect match."

"Ugh." Was her only response.

"You didn't tell me you've met your soulmate?"

"I just found out. Like right now. I mean I've noticed things but I just didn't want to make conclusions that quickly."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Never. Let him find out on his own." Besides, how was she supposed to tell him? _Hey, we're soulmates, I'm the reason why you have those back aches._ or _Thanks for the bruises, dude._

Would he believe her? Would he even be happy to know it was her? Pidge had seen Lance flirt with people in the library multiple times. She knew his type and it wasn't nerdy girls with a 13 year old boy's body.

She wasn't even sure if she was okay with him being her soulmate. Still, the thought of rejection made her heart sink.

"I hate to break it to you, Pidge, but Lance might not be dumb, but he's very dense. He wouldn't know unless someone tell him."

"Fine." She knew she had to tell him sooner or later anyway. "I'll tell him when I have evidence."

"Pidge, this isn't a thesis report. And aren't your back aches enough?"

"Well, I can't just tell someone we're soulmates without a strong evidence right? Plus, this–" She pointed on her upper back. "is internal. There aren't any marks or anything. Therefore, it wouldn't be as convincing." Excuses. Pidge had mastered making those a long time ago. She really just wasn't ready to tell him.

It worked for Hunk, though. He shrugged. "Alright. True. You win. But when you tell him, I need to know what happens. Always update me."


	2. Chapter 2

Tired. Pidge was feeling extra tired today. So tired that it wasn't even a feeling for her anymore, it was her whole existence. Her eyes felt heavy, head spinning slightly. She had pulled several all nighters this week to work on papers and review for the upcoming finals. All nighters were her thing, she was used to it, the girl never slept. But everyone had their limits, and Pidge just reached hers.

"You should rest, Pidge. You look exhausted." The girl on the desk said.

Pidge responded, leaning her arms on the desk. "It's fine, Allura. I look like this everyday."

That made her co librarian giggle. Allura's smile was just so pretty. Wait, no, her whole being was pretty. No doubt, anyone who'd meet this woman for the first time would immediately fall in love with her and her beautiful dark skin, soft voice, long dyed white hair, and sparkly blue eyes. They weren't as sickeningly blue as Lance's though–

 _Shit. Not again._  This was approximately the fifteenth time Lance just randomly popped out of her mind.  _Why was everything always had to be about that loud mouth? Stupid tired mind, stupid soulmate._

"I am truly sorry for not being able to help you these past few weeks. I'll make it up to you. I shall take shelf duties tomorrow if that's to your liking."

Ignoring the fact how, as always, Allura talked like one of those professionally written royal proclamations in old movies, Pidge responded with a thankful smile. "That'd be great. How's your foot though? Are you sure it's okay for you to move around?"

Allura and Pidge started working at one of their college libraries a couple months back for they were both part of a placement program for the Computer Science and Literature students that Altea University had. Pidge was originally placed at the tech desk, though that station wasn't very active in that particular college library so they just decided to also give her normal library duties along with Allura.

After their first week however, Allura had to take a few days off because of a terrible, heartbreaking accident– she fell off the stairs when she tried to run in heels, trying to prove to her friends that Cinderella's sonic run on the castle's massive stairs away from the Prince was impossible. She proved her point well. –that caused major injury on her left foot. The poor girl was supposed to let it rest for a month, and she did but she was still in the healing process, Pidge didn't want to let her do tasks that required a lot of walking on her first day back.

"Don't worry, it's alright now. Though I still need to keep the bandages for a couple more weeks, my doctor said that it would be best for me to do leg and feet activities and exercises."

Pidge tried to look at Allura's foot just to check and failed miserably for it was impossible to see with this huge desk in the way. "Okay. Shelf duties is yours tomorrow then."

"Splendid!" Allura said cheerfully. "So, anything interesting happened while I was gone?"

Pidge's expression immediately fell at the question. "Oh I have a lot to tell–"

"Pidge!" Speaking of.

"Lance." She said stoicly to the tall guy that just entered the library, carrying what seemed to be an old laptop.

"Oh thank God. Help me." He quickly slammed the laptop on the desk. "I think I accidentally put virus in– Well, hello there." His paniced expression was immediately replaced by a cheeky, suave look with that toothy grin of his as soon as his eyes fell on Allura. The shorter girl rolled her eyes. Typical Lance.

Pidge couldn't help but chuckle when Allura only responded by giving him a confused, uncomfortable look. "Allura, this is Lance. Don't worry, he's not as creepy as he looks."

"Uhm? Ouch."

"A friend of yours?"

"Unfortunately, yeah." The short haired answered, completely unaware of how fond she sounded.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Lance turned to Allura with a flirty smirk. "So uh, you come here often?"

"I work here, as you can see."

Covering her mouth, Pidge tried her hardest not to burst out laughing. No wonder this boy was single. Using her other hand, she tugged on Lance's jacket. "You're such a flop. Let's go, lover boy, we're blocking the desk."

With a heated face, Lance took his laptop with him and let himself get pulled by his small friend.

"Okay. Back to my laptop." He said, a little aggressively, trying to take his own and Pidge's attention away from what just happened as he sat on a random table that was fairly far from the main desk. "Can you check if there's any virus or something? It kept crashing after I connected one of my group mates' usb in here."

Finally clearing her throat to end her non stop giggling, she then spoke. "Let me see." Pidge sat beside him, moving the laptop a little to face her. She hissed, her vision blurring slightly at the screen's blinding light. She literally felt like her eyeballs were about to fall off. "God, turn down the brightness." And she did with a few clicks. It was kind of ironic how her world revolved around computers yet it was also the one that just caused her pain. Technically, it was the lack of sleep but she lived for the ironies.

"You okay?" Lance asked in a very worried tone with the sincerest concerned look that made her heart skip a bit.

"Yeah." She said, trying to focus on examining the files and whatnot in his computer.

His eyebrows furrowed as he continued staring at her, slowly noticing the little things that clearly didn't scream  _I'm okay_ , like how extra pale she looked and how the bags under her eyes seemed to be darker than normal. "Oh really?"

"Yes, Lance. I'm perfectly fin–" The boy placed his forehead on hers. "W-What are you doing?"

Her body froze but her face heated up.  _Shit. Shit. Shit._  Pidge thought. Just when she thought the situation couldn't get more embarrassing, she heard a student quote. "What the fuck? Is that allowed?"

Suddenly she wasn't as pale anymore. Lance placed his hand on the back of her head for steadiness. Closing his eyes, he let out a thinking hum, as if he was focusing on whatever he was doing. She felt his breath touching her face, sending shivers down her tiny body. Their faces were so close that she could then see the little freckles on his nose and cheeks. She didn't even know he had those. They were cute. He smelled really nice too.

Before she could even continue her observation and borderline creepy thoughts, Lance finally pulled away.

In her flustered state, she asked. "W-What the fuck was that?"

"You're kinda warm. But not too intense. Though, I can tell you're not feeling well."

"Who in the world checks someone's temperature like that?"

"Me and my whole family. Now, shush. How many hours have you slept last night?"

She scoffed nervously. "Mind your own sleep schedule, McClain."

That was all the reaction he needed. "Pidge, you need rest."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because you can literally apply as a walking dead extra right now and they'll hire you on the spot. And because you do need rest. Which is why Hunk and I will be going to your place tomorrow night."

Her mind blanked for a moment. A few minutes ago he was just trying to mess with her heart with his unique method of feeling one's temperature, now he wanted to go to her place? "... What? You don't even know where I–"

"You'll take us there of course. You live in an apartment near the campus right? It'll be perfect. Hunk and I would always do something fun on fridays. It's kind of like our rest day. Y'know, away from all the stress and schoolworks. Which you really need right now."

 _Unbelievable_. "No. Lance, I have a shit ton of projects and papers to do."

He shrugged. "So do we. Do you have anything to pass on saturday or sunday?"

"No. But–"

"Great. Take a break with us then. We can watch a movie or play videogames, anything that isn't studying."

"How is that going to help me rest? I–" A groan.

Sighing in defeat, she looked back at his laptop and started updating his anti virus.

Tired. Pidge was too tired to argue and tired enough to deserve a break. She knew it was over once the word videogames came out of his mouth. A little break from school didn't sound that bad too. "Fine." She said unenthusiastically, though deep inside that little body of hers, there was definitely excitement.

Either she was excited about the video games or hanging out with Lance. She hoped it wasn't the latter.

Little did she know that a certain tan skinned boy was ten times more excited than her.

"Your laptop doesn't have any virus, by the way. But you have too many files, that's why it keeps crashing. Seriously, you should get a new hard drive or something. And delete some files that you don't need, you have too many selfies here."

Lance screeched so high it hurt everyone's eardrums. Thou shall not see his unflattering photo booth selfies. "Hey!" Grabbing his laptop from her, he pouted. "You'll never know when I need them."

It was when a few shushes reached him that he once again was reminded of where he was. He was about to apologize when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reading the text, he cussed. "Shit. Hunk texted, I'm late for practice."

The girl beside her raised a brow. "Hunk's in the dance team?"

"Nah, he just likes watching Shay. I'll see you tomorrow, Pidge!"

Lance then stood up and walked away.

Oh no, wait, he came back. "Oops. Almost, forgot." He grabbed his laptop. "Thanks for this by the way. Bye!" And he was gone.

With a fond smile on her lips, Pidge thought.  _What a dork._

* * *

 

It was about 8:30 PM when Pidge came back to her apartment. She was about to go back to stressing her mind out thinking about school works when the smell of burgers hit her nose as she entered the apartment, making her stomach rumble. Lazily dropping her bag on the couch, she then walked to the kitchen. To her surprise, her roommate was cooking rather than preparing some left overs or take outs like they'd usually do.

His mullet was tied in a small ponytail to avoid pieces of his thick raven hair from covering his face and burning the whole kitchen down again. Long story. "Whatcha cooking?" Pidge asked, leaning her side on their kitchen glass door.

He gave her a quick glance before answering. "Some instant patties I found in the fridge. Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope. Nice scrunchy."

"You gave it to me for my birthday."

"That's why it's nice because I picked it. Red suits you." He could already see the smirk on her face without looking.

"You bought it because you'd literally buy everything that you could make a Heathers reference with."

"Oh, but you loved the movie, Keith. Don't lie."

Saying that Keith and Pidge were best friends would be an understatement. The two didn't immediately get along when they first met at their school's conspiracy club, they went through a whole lot of disagreements and fights. Now, one couldn't even live without the other. No one would've thought that the two most socially inept kids would be this close, but here they were.

Keith was a couple years older than Pidge though, they were the same grade, thanks to her above average intelligence. Thus, they graduated together both with honors, Pidge being their class valedictorian. The two went to different universities but decided to share an apartment for their unis were fairly near each other, they thought it'd be much more convenient if they'd just share an apartment rather than paying a shit ton for a dorm –for it wasn't really part of their scholarship– and force their anti social asses to interact with a random stranger they'd call a roommate. Plus, none of them would admit it but they didn't really want to spend college, or the rest of their lives, without each other.

"By the way," Pidge started, sitting down by their kitchen table as Keith finished preparing their dinner. He took a seat across her. "Matt's visiting next week."

"Oh." She didn't miss the way his body flinched.

"Oh?"

"That's... nice." Keith did a good job keeping a straight face but still failed to hide his emotions for there were tints of pink appearing on his cheeks and ears.

"Try harder." She blurted out. He took a bite of his pattie, violet like eyes avoiding her gaze.

Laughing lightly, she added "Also, a couple of my friends are coming over tomorrow. Get your headphones ready, one of them is obnoxiously loud."

He chuckled teasingly. "You have friends?"

"The fuck do you call yourself then?"

"The JD to your Veronica."

"You know we could be JD and Veronica but you're gay."

Shrugging, he responded. "Yeah, but we're still–"

Keith was then interrupted by the sound of her fork dropping. He was about to ask Pidge if she was okay when she suddenly bent down to grab her left foot, letting out a strangled yelp and startling her best friend. He immediately rushed to her side. "Pidge, what happened!?"

"M-My ankle. It hurts, I-I can't– ah!" Another shot of pain, now in her whole foot, interrupted her panicked explanation. Her ankle and foot throbbed as if the muscles there were twisting roughly by themselves. The worst part was she couldn't remember what caused this. She didn't hit her foot anywhere, she was just eating peacefully when she suddenly felt like something on her ankle popped.

"Shit, what did you do?" Keith asked with obvious concern and panic in his voice.

"I don't know! It just happened!"

"It's probably your fucking soulmate then."

For a moment, the girl was distracted from the pain as she let Keith's words enter her head. A word stood out.

Soulmate.

"Keith, get my phone." He obliged without questioning and gave her the device laying on the table. Once she had it, she quickly searched for a certain lanky boy's number and pressed call.

She waited for about ten seconds before finally losing patience and called Hunk instead. He answered after the second ring. "Pidge!" He said rather joyfully for some reason.

"Hunk!"

"Ah, great timing. Are you okay?" "Is Lance okay?" They spoke at the same time.

A pause.

A realization.

"Oh that's some good evidence right there." Hunk broke the silence.

"What happened to him?"

"The dance team were doing this really dangerous stunt, Lance was a flyer and uh, it happened too fast, I didn't really see but something went wrong with their formation, Lance landed on the wrong foot and might've sprained his ankle." Pidge barely understood what he said for he sounded very shakey and out of breath.

She winced, now feeling the pain spiraling across half of her leg. Keith stayed by her side the whole time. "Where is he now?"

"His team is taking him to the infirmary. I can't catch up cus I hate running and I have his bag but we're on our way."

"Hurry up then! It hurts like hell."

"Okay, okay. At least you got the big evidence you needed right?"

The thought of telling Lance about the whole soulmate thing made her groan and end the call. She felt more worried about him than anything else, however.

She remembered her mother saying that people could only feel 80% of their soulmate's pain. If she was hurt, she couldn't even imagine how much more painful it was for him.

"Lance?..." Pidge heard Keith say. "I hope you're not referring to McClain."

With widened eyes and apparently a sprained ankle, she asked. "You know him?"

"Oh, I do." A horrified expression then formed on his face. "Fuck, don't tell me– is he your?..."

Oh she had a lot to tell him.

* * *

 

Rubbing her feet together under the main desk, Pidge clicked her tongue in annoyance, dissatisfied with how she couldn't scratch an itch on her "injured" foot. She really couldn't do anything to ease it for it was beneath her converse, sailor moon socks, and the bandage that Keith forced her to put around her ankle. He was no expert but unlike Pidge, he paid attention to that one basic first aid lesson they had in high school.

Her foot didn't hurt that much anymore, thankfully. It took approximately ten hours for the pain to finally fade enough so that she could walk properly without limping, although her ankle would still feel some tenderness when touched. She thought perhaps it was only a mild sprain. Keith suggested it'd be better if she kept the bandage for a couple more weeks though, just to make sure.

 _"It'll be helpful to your dumbass soulmate too since they say people's injury would heal faster if their soulmate would also take care of it from their side."_  She remembered the dark eyed saying while wrapping the thick cloth around her lower foot and ankle.

Keith had been bad mouthing her soulmate since he started giving her multiple random bruises on various parts of her body almost every week when they started college. It was pretty understandable now that she knew her soulmate was on a dance team. Keith was still salty though. It became worse when she told him about who her soulmate was.

Keith was a member of Daibazal University's basketball team. They frequently had matches with Altea and both university's dance team would sometimes do opening performances for said matches. Apparently, Keith and Lance met in one of those matches, in the most unpleasant way that was.

He told Pidge about how Lance was so hyped on his seat one time, cheering loudly for Altea and booing too aggressively whenever Daibazal would get a point. His friends were telling him to shut up for once the referee heard him, Altea could lose a point because of the team's audience misbehaviour. He wasn't listening though and Keith just happened to pass by the bench –his coach called for him to rest, for he clearly was exhausted, and let the sub play– causing him to hear the dancer's borderline disrespectful chants. Keith politely asked Lance to turn his voice down or the referee would hear him but the boy was just so hyped that instead of just saying no, he even tried to start a fight. Thankfully, the other members of Altea's dance team were there and Keith wanted to save his energy and adrenaline for the game.

Needless to say, Lance didn't leave a very good first impression on her best friend.

Fortunately, Keith texted her earlier that he would be staying at his calculus partner's dorm to finish a project. Who knew what he would do if he met Lance at their apartment later. He was already in a bad mood when she told him Lance was one of the friends that'd come over at their place tonight. Keith obviously didn't want her alone with the boy. And if she'd be honest, Pidge didn't want that too. She didn't think her heart could take it, having to be alone with her soulmate.

Why? She wasn't sure. But he made her... feel things. Pidge didn't like it when she would feel things before she even knew what the feeling was.

Thankfully, Hunk would also be there.

"Pidge! You ready to go?" The obnoxious legend had entered the library once again with a bright smile.

She shushed him stoicly and waited for a certain food enthusiast to follow. He didn't appear. "Where's Hunk?"

"Oh. He said he couldn't come cause he wasn't feeling well for some reason. Didn't he text you?"

The smaller brunette gave him a confused look before looking at her phone which was on silent. A message from Hunk.

 _1/2 team punk (6:35 PM):_  
_I can't come *cough* *cough* I'm sick_

 _1/2 team punk (6:36 PM):_  
_Have fun with Lance tho_

She was going to kill him.

Hug him to death rather, because he was still a soft devil and she loved him.

 _boo u_ _hor_ _:(((_

Pidge managed to reply and complete his mean girls reference with composure.

Great. She was stuck with Lance. For the whole night. It confused her how the thought of being alone with him could make her heart pound on her chest like crazy. Before she could even complain, he spoke again.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Pidge."

Something in her stomach fluttered.

"Pidge?" Said girl turned to see Allura approaching the desk. "Do we suppose have any Environmental Science books left?"

Pidge made a quick check on the library computer– which brightness she turned down earlier as to not mess with her tired eyes once again –ignoring how Lance tried to greet her co librarian in the lamest, most flirtatious way possible. Allura only responded with a blank hello.

"We have three copies but only one haven't been borrowed. I don't know where it is though?"

"I'll go take a look. Perhaps it had been misplaced." The older librarian then glanced at Lance before giving Pidge an assuring smile. "If I'm not mistaken, you guys have some plans for tonight, right? You should go ahead. It is almost the end of our shift anyways. I got this."

A blink "You sure?"

"Of course."

She smiled back, feeling absolutely grateful for the angel. "Thanks, Allura."

Hanging her huge black and orange backpack on her slim shoulders, Pidge then stood up and turned her attention to Lance. She was about to ask him if he was ready to go but paused when she noticed him staring at Allura who was walking away. He wore this almost bewitched but thoughtful expression, as if he was internally solving an unknown puzzle, as he looked at her from head to toe. However, Pidge didn't miss how his eyes lingered more downwards.

"If you're staring at her ass, I swear I'll poke your eyes out." Pidge stated irritatingly. It was making her sick morally and emotionally. Mostly, emotionally. Why? Again, she wasn't sure.

"I wasn't! I–"

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Instead of just going around the desk like a normal person would, Pidge hopped with her right foot, used her arms for support, and went over it. Their head librarian would kill her if she saw that. The strict old lady was on a vacation though, she thanked the universe.

She felt a light throb on her injured foot when she landed, however. It didn't hurt that much but it was there, making her bite her lower lip to prevent herself from reacting.

A wince.

It wasn't Pidge.

"Shit, this foot is killing me." Said Lance.

Oh. She forgot about that. Why she had the "injury" in the first place.

Lance was wearing blue flip flops, making the bandage around his lower left foot and ankle –that was very, yet more professionally done, similar to hers– stand out. Trying to play innocent, Pidge stared at it and asked "W-What happened to your foot?" The concern in her voice was far less from an act.

A light laugh escaped him before responding. "Stunt went wrong, basically. I hope my soulmate is okay."

That last sentence made her stiff slightly. He really did care about his soulmate, didn't he? Technically it was Pidge but he didn't know that. She convinced herself that he only cared about the soulmate that he created in his mind, not Pidge.

"That looks painful."  _It hurt a lot, actually._ She thought. "You sure you can walk? My apartment's a few blocks away."

"Aww, Pidge, you do care."

"I'm leaving you–"

"I mean, yeah! I can totally walk, this is just a mild sprain, no big deal. Let's go!"

The two finally left the library but once they exit the building, Pidge got another text from Hunk that would surely mess with her mind up for the rest of the night.

 _1/2 team punk (6:45 PM):_  
_Btw, please tell me you're going to use this opportunity to tell Lance that you guys are soulmates? I purposely missed a hangout friday to give you this chance!_


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright. Make yourself at home. But don't touch too much shit." Said Pidge as she and Lance entered her apartment.

He roamed his eyes around. The living room was nice, green pillows took half the space of the sofa, a red blanket covered the seat as if somebody had just slept there. The kitchen was surprisingly neat except for a small mountain of dishes in the sink, the fridge had owl and hippo magnets on it, and there was also a random peanut butter jar on the counter. All in all, the place looked... like a normal college student's apartment. Or college  _students_  rather, for he noticed there were two rooms.

Careful not put too much weight on his left foot, he walked towards the sofa and said. "Nice place you got here. You got a roommate?"

"Yeah. He's not here, though." She said as she dropped her bag, sat down on said sofa and removed her shoes, keeping her socks on.

His constant smile faded. "Oh. Is he your–?"

By now, she was already used to people asking about her and Keith's relationship– thanks to the nosy people in high school –that Lance didn't even need to complete his sentence for her to understand. "We're not fucking if that's what you're thinking."

"It still amazes me how innocent looking yet vulgar you are." Was that a sigh of relief she just heard? "But okay."

Weird.

He then spoke again. "So, videogame or movie?"

* * *

 

Intense music from the tv filled the living room, along with the sound of Lance's hand dipping in the popcorn bowl between them, trying to find the cheesiest ones and putting it in his mouth. Clacking of keys mixed in with the noise as Pidge worked on google docs to try and finish a script for a group video presentation. The glow of her laptop bounced eerily from her spectacles.

She worked on a  _group_  video presentation. Without any of her group mates present or online.

Shutting her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath.

Group projects were Pidge's worst enemies. This one in particular was just terrible. She didn't knew anyone in that class so she just got grouped with two other random girls. The two hadn't even contacted her since the project was announced. Pidge made a group chat but she only received an  _idk_  as a response from one of them when she asked what they wanted to do.  _You want something done? You gotta do it yourself._ She thought as she leaned her face closer to her laptop, typing aggressively.

Stress began conquering her mind as she tried her hardest not to think about all her unfinished papers and lessons that she hadn't reviewed yet. She felt like crying but she needed to finish this script at least, so she continued.

So focused on her work, the brunette didn't even heard the movie pause.

Lance's eyes lingered on her with concern. Just by looking at her, he could clearly tell that she was one stressful project away from ripping her hair out. He could also tell that his deep sigh took a bit of her attention for her typing suddenly slowed.

"20 minutes into the movie and you're already on your laptop? Seriously, Pidge?"

"Don't worry, I've already seen it." She said without taking her eyes off the screen.

"Still." He pouted. Another sigh and he moved the bowl of popcorn aside to scooch next to her. He felt her stiffened so he moved away a little to give her space. "You promised not to do any studying or school work."

"I didn't promise anything. Now, shush and just continue watching."

"You know your brain will work faster if you let it rest, trust me I'm a nursing student."

She only let out a lazy hum as a response.

He crossed his arms. "Am I bothering you?"

"Oh, nooo." She answered sarcastically, still not taking her eyes away from her laptop.

"I'll stop bothering you if you beat me at mario kart?"

Her fingers paused.  _Bingo._

"What? You scared?" Lance said in a smug tone. "I mean I don't blame you. I'm a mario kart pro, no one has ever beaten me."

Shutting her laptop, she gave him an incredibly intense look, a look that could intimidate even the toughest human alive. "Bet."

* * *

 

Both Pidge and Lance were competitive as hell. Losing was worst than death for the two.

They were on their seventh round when Lance, out of nowhere, started to ask Pidge random questions. From very simple ones like "So, what's your dream career?" to odd ones like "Would you rather see the future or the past?" She answered all of them without losing her focus on the race.

Pidge had already won four out of six rounds –so much for being a pro,  _lance_ – and he was eager to get his revenge. She knew he was trying to distract her. Too bad for him, he was playing against a multitasker, someone who could talk and play at the same time, and someone who wasn't easily distract–

"Anything interesting you can share about your soulmate?"

She almost lost her grip on her controller and accidentally turned the wrong way. "Argh!"

The round ended in favor of Lance. "Aww, yeah!" Said winner proudly pumped his fist in the air. "Another win for Lancey Lance!"

"That's cheating! You were trying to distract me!"

"Nobody said you can't have healthy conversations with your opponent while playing?"

Opening her mouth, nothing came out so she closed it bitterly. She tried once again and finally said "Two can play at that game."

It was clear that when they started a new round, it wasn't only about winning anymore, it was about the one who could ask the most distracting question that would lead the other to their utter defeat. It was a battle for double victory.

Pidge started off easy. "What's your biggest insecurity?"  _Aiming for the emotions, good strategy._ She praised, internally giving herself a pat on the back.

This question didn't seem to bother Lance at all though. "The fact that I'm like, the weakest link in everything." He answered too casually, like it was no big deal, like he had already tried to tell himself that it wasn't true but had been proven wrong a million times.

The atmosphere grew a little tense. "Weakest link in mario kart, I could agree." Her response made him snort at least.

"Don't get too cocky, Katarina." She didn't need to look off the screen to know that he was giving her his signature sweet smile, happy to be able to tease her using her own name once again.

Pidge fought a grin. A month ago, If she heard anyone calling her by her real name, she would've had been extremely uncomfortable for she wasn't really used to being called "Katarina" outside of home anymore.

Katarina "Katie" Holt was that one kid in kindergarten who preferred to read superhero comics than fairytale books, Katie was that one nerd who built her first computer in elementary, Katie was the bullied girl in middle school, Katie was the anti social weirdo that everyone– except for one other particular anti social hothead –avoided in high school.

"Katarina" was a beautiful name, but it carried a lot of ugly memories.

Then, as cheesy as it was, Lance came into her life and slowly replaced those memories with better ones. Lance talked to Katarina, he made efforts just to befriend Katarina, he was still in the process of breaking her walls, and it was obvious that he was trying his best as if she woudl be worth all the hard work. Now, whenever she would hear her name, she wouldn't just remember the harsh voice of her bullies using it to intimidate her. Instead, she'd remember Lance and his ten thousand smiles.

Lance was a great friend.

Perhaps having him as a soulmate wasn't so bad, she realized. Perhaps she needed to tell him about that too.

"Okay. Um..." Her thoughts were interrupted by him speaking as his character threw a blue shell at hers. "What's your biggest fear?

Pidge's character was still on the lead when she responded. "Are you expecting a deep, poetic answer or something like the devil from Fantasia? Cus that shit is scary."

"I know right? That scene gave me nightmares as a child. But hey, a more poetic answer would be nice. Though, you don't have to tell me personal stuff if you're uncomfortable."

"Hmm. My biggest fear..." For a moment, she hesitated. Tiny, callused hands started sweating as the thought that she was about to open up to someone that wasn't Matt or Keith finally sunk in. "Disappointment, probably." She answered anyway for by now she already knew very well that Lance wasn't the type of person that would take advantage or make fun of someone's vulnerability.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I'm scared of disappointing people." She shrugged. "I don't know, I just... I hate letting people down. It sucks so bad to know when I made a person, especially if it's someone I care about, unhappy or unsatisfied because of something that I did, didn't do, failed to do, have, or didn't have. It sucks even more when I can't do anything about it. " Her hands loosen their grip on her controller as the game ended with victory on her side. Nobody seemed to care about that anymore. Lance's eyes and ears were on her, patiently waiting for her to elaborate.

Hugging her knees, careful not to hurt her left foot, she took a deep breath. "Y'know like... Like when I was in elementary during p.e class, we'd play dodgeball and the teacher would split the class into two teams, everyone on my team's mood would always drop when they'd see lil ol weakling me on their group like... like their disappointed that I'm with them. It's both humiliating and frustrating. Same with failing an exam or getting a low grade. It's like trying my best but it's still not enough... Like I'm not enough." Taking a deep breath, she let some of the tension on her chest loose. Pidge gave him a glance and noticed how he was still carefully listening, his eyes urging her to continue. "Maybe I'm just scared of disappointment because I rarely experience being one, or making one feel like that towards me."

There was a pause. A heavy yet comfortable pause. She kept her eyes on the floor, hugging her knees tighter as she felt the boy beside him take a deep breath as well.

"Wow. I asked you one question and it's like you just read to me your whole autobiography." Said Lance in his obvious  _trying to lighten up the mood_  tone.

"Should I regret doing that?" She looked at him and wasn't even surprised to see that he was smiling at her so fondly, so genuine that it made her heart race.

"No. You can trust me." He responded, low and serious. She already trusted him but the way he said it just made her trust him even more.

"I know."

Another short pause. Pidge let go of her knees and crossed her legs slowly, injured foot on top of the other, while Lance placed the controller he didn't notice he was still holding beside him on the couch. "That's why you're so eager to finish all your projects on time and review til you drop huh? Afraid to disappoint?"

"My family and myself, yeah. If I was a fictional character, my character description would be just one big 'smartass' in all caps. I can't lose that title."

"You're more than just a genius, Pidge. You don't have to stress yourself out everytime just to get a 'smartass' level grade. It's nice to aim for a perfect score in all of the exams or projects and all that, but pushing yourself too hard won't help you to achieve that. Again, sometimes the brain needs to rest in order to work properly." His hand ruffled her already messy hair as if to emphasize his point. She found the gesture to be really nice. However, it seemed like "personal space" was clearly non-existent in Lance's vocabulary. Minutes ago, he was sitting at the other end of the couch and now their shoulders were touching. "Trust me, I've been there. I wasn't as laid back as I am now when I started college. Now, it's my turn to do an IRL version of a draw my life video so listen."

She couldn't help but let out a light laugh. Lance liked that sound, he thought. "You see, my siblings are actually the ones paying my tuitions, I help of course. Although, we can't afford some of the textbooks, it still means a lot since they worked really hard just for me to be able to go to my dream university. Education is really important in my family and I just got very lucky to be the youngest child  _and_  the only child who got the chance to go to college. I don't want to waste all of their hard work, so I really want to graduate, I have to."

"That's... A lot of pressure."

"Yeah. I used to let that pressure get to me like all the time. I studied too much than necessary, never took a break when doing projects, pushed myself too hard, I didn't even had time for myself." A sad smile formed on his lips, memories from his stressful freshmen year of college flashing through his mind. "Then, one time I just passed out in the middle of dance practice because of lack of sleep and nutrients. After that I learned my lesson. I started taking breaks from all the school stuff when I needed to, hanged out with my friends, made time for myself, had fun. Cause having fun is another way to rest, y'know? You don't think too much, you forget all about the stress. It's perfect."

A familiar warmth bloomed in Pidge's chest when hit with a realization. "That's why you wanted to hangout today huh?" She chuckled fondly.

Lance's eyes widened like he was caught kissing a Harry Styles poster. Tints of pink appeared on his face, a compliment to his dark skin. The fact that he was blushing because of her made her face heat up too. Now there were two awkward tomatoes in her living room. "Y-Yeah. I mean you obviously needed a break so..."

It took him by surprise when Pidge gave him a smile. A soft, precious, genuine smile.

Her eyes smiled too, and he wasn't sure if they were just shiny or if there were glossy tears forming in them, but they were beautiful.  _She_  was beautiful. "Thanks, Lance." She said and his heart melted.

He returned a smile. "I got you, Pidge."

Lance really was a great friend. She thought.

Having Lance as a soulmate was probably a blessing.

There was silence. Her heart pounded hard on her chest as she touched her injured foot– well,  _their_  injured foot technically –that was still covered by her socks.  _He deserves to know._

"By the way–" He started.

"Can I tell you a secret?" The two said at the same time.

Foot in her mouth, she chuckled. "You go first."

"Yeah, okay." He cleared his throat. "Since our friendship have evolved, I think it's okay for us to have soulmate talks now, right? Also, I just can't keep it in anymore, I need to talk about this."

Her breathing slowed, palms sweating so hard, ready to replace Niagra falls. "Right. Y-You found out who your soulmate is or something?"

"Yes, but don't tell anyone yet, cause I'm still not a hundred percent sure but I think–" He fought a grin like he was trying his best to keep his cool. She fought her heart from beating louder than it should.

"I think Allura's my soulmate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a lot of dialogue and i'm not good with dialogues.


	4. Chapter 4

"I think Allura's my soulmate."

Just like that, everything stopped. Time, the beating of her heart, the universe itself. All the little scars and bruises on her body tingled in a strange, unpleasant way. He was the only one smiling now. The clear excitement on his face made her feel harder to breathe.

_Of course._

Pidge gritted her teeth.

_Of fucking course._

"I saw her left foot earlier. It was bandaged the same way as  _my_  left foot. Do you know when she got that?"

"Yeah, uh..."  _She had it even before you had yours, dumbass._ "Just this morning, I think." Pidge internally slapped herself. She didn't want to lie, she really didn't. But she also didn't want to erase the pure joy he was clearly feeling.

Though, her decision was going to make a lot of mess was it? She took a deep breath and as she was about to change her mind, Lance's gaze fell to the floor with a look that took every breath of her away and spoke softly. "I finally found her."

Out of all of his smiles, the one he wore right then was probably the most beautiful. She could see the relief and love he was ready to give attached to it.

Something about the fact that someone else was the reason for this smile bothered her a lot. It could be just the guilt for lying, making him smile for the wrong person, that creeped up her back.

Yeah. She hoped it was just that.

"Your turn." Said Lance, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"What were you gonna say earlier?"

"Oh. Just that I- I noticed how you and Allura have the same injury too."

There was no turning back.

* * *

 

"Stop glaring, Hunk." Pidge said quietly, feeling the intense look he was giving her.

Brown eyes kept staring at her as she continued to type on her laptop. She felt uneasy but not to the point where she couldn't focus on the email that she was writing to her professor. A letter to inform her about the extremely unfair division of tasks in her group and how her two group mates barely did anything for their project.

Somewhere in the library, she could hear Lance being absentmindedly loud again. That and Hunk's glare growing more intense was enough to make her take a deep breath and finally look at the guy across her.

"Look what you've done." He said.

"I didn't do anything."

"Exactly. You didn't do anything to stop him from thinking Allura was his soulmate! Look at him!" He whisper shouted, pointing at the main desk. There, was Allura, staring blankly at Lance who was leaning an elbow on the desk and smirking at her like an idiot.

Pidge rolled her eyes, trying her hardest to keep her blood boiling at the sight. "He looks happy."

"He looks stupid, Pidge. You know what he said to me that night? 'Would it be more romantic if I make her realize rather than just telling her?'" She fought a grin at Hunk's accurate impression of Lance's slightly high pitched voice. "And just a few weeks ago you were like 'Never. Let him find out on his own.' You two just love miscommunication and complicating things more huh?"

"It'd be more complicated if I told him while he was so stoked about the idea of another person being his soulmate. It would ruin his mood, make things awkward, and possibly ruin our friendship too." Besides, she didn't want to mess things up after they just had their deep conversation and learned to really open up to each other for the first time.

It had been a couple of days since that whole thing happened. Finals was next week, everyone had been pretty busy with their own thing. Allura had to take care of some important stuff these past couple of days that Pidge had to work at the library on her own again. Meaning, Lance didn't immediately got the chance to start his wooing.

 _"She's not here?"_   _He asked the night after their "hangout friday"- as Hunk would call it._

 _"She has a checkup. Sorry,_ _loverboy_ _."_

_"Aww man." The boy looked down at his feet. "I must've hurt her real bad."_

_Pidge's frown deepened as she only hummed in response. It was too early for her to casually talk about soulmates after what just happened_ _._

_"Well, guess I'll just study then. Hey, Pidge."_

_She looked at him, he raised a brow. "You're taking care of yourself, right?"_

_Snorting, she couldn't fight a grin. Why was he like this? Could he stop being so nice for a second? "Yeah, don't worry. I remember your advice by heart."_

Pidge cringed internally, remembering what she said.

"Fix this, Pidge."

"I will, Hunk. Just– let him have his fun for a little while." Ignoring the slight pain in her chest and Hunk's disappointed look, she finally finished the email and pressed send.

* * *

 

Shoe squeaks and loud pop music filled the gym.

The highest bleacher was cold against the palm of her hands. Pidge could see everything from up here. It was nice. Plus, she was far from everyone, far from the volleyball team playing and from the dance team which she found out was just like a bunch of Lance put in one group. Everyone was just as loud and boisterous.

"Why am I here again?"

Lance looked up at her from where he stood, one bleacher below, and flashed a smile. "Because Hunk isn't available and I'm used to having a friend watch me practice. You don't have a choice."

She let out a deep breath. At least Hunk wasn't available for real this time. Unlike the last time he left the two where he tried to play wingman.

"Ugh. Don't you have like a hobby that's a little more... quiet?"

"Oh come on, Pidge. Don't you think a bunch of college kids dancing and doing dangerous stunts is cool?"

Her attention was caught by a flyer being thrown in the air. The guy landed too quickly and it was obvious by the shocked look on their faces that his spotters weren't ready, they caught him immediately anyways.

"Fun." Her hands started sweating, seeing the team practice that same stunt again. "Is this a requirement? I mean does this boost up your grades in any way?"

"Not really. Clubs and stuff like this doesn't really add that much to my GPA." He said as he took out his water bottle.

"Why didn't you just take performing arts then?"

He took a sip. "I was going to. I wanted to study and make money out of dancing but... let's be honest, the money part would be kinda hard to achieve. So I went with my second favorite thing to do, taking care of people. I took nursing."

Pidge was about to ask another question when one of his teammates suddenly shouted. "Lance! You ready?"

"Yup! Just a sec!" Lance put down his bottle before giving her another proud smile. "Just enjoy the show, Katarina. We have like fifteen minutes left of practice. It'll be quick."

She watched as he carefully walked down the bleachers and towards his team. She bit her lip when her injured foot throbbed slightly as she saw Lance unintentionally take a hard step.

A member then approached him and said something she couldn't obviously hear.

Nodding his head, he smiled at said member before getting into position.

There was something off about that smile, though. How he went from being all jumpy to stiff right after said teammate talked to him was not a good sign too.

Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose.

The same pop music that was on repeat for minutes played again as the dance team started their routine. They did some incredible stunts and moves that could make anyone jump from their seat yet she couldn't take her eyes away from a single dancer.

Ocean waves.

That was the only thing she could think of as she watched him sway, turn, pop and glide. Lance danced so swiftly yet every move had a hint of snap. His hips didn't lie, his whole body moved so in sync with the beat.

He didn't look like he was having as much fun, though, and one time he looked as if he wasn't sure if he was in the right position which was concerning.

But still.

_That was hot._

* * *

 

"I have eight papers due tomorrow and I haven't started any of them." Said Keith after taking a big gulp of milk straight from the carton as he sat by the kitchen counter.

He was lactose intolerant.

"And why's that?"

"I don't know, Shiro. Everytime I begin typing I just burst into tears."

Even through the phone, his brother's disappointed sigh was still upsetting to hear. "College's tough huh?"

Keith chuckled. "That's an understatement."

"I know but you have to be more responsible. Be more like Katie but without the overworking part." Keith frowned at the second statement, remembering all those nights he had to drag an exhausted Pidge to bed and how he hated seeing her all stressed up. He took another sip. "Speaking of, how is she? Her finals is coming up right? I hope she's not over studying again."

"Strangely but fortunately, no. She hasn't overworked herself in days."

"That's good. Matt's visiting you guys today so–"

Keith chocked on his milk before Shiro could even finish his sentence.

He totally forgot about that.

"You okay there?" Shiro asked. Keith could already see his brother's teasing smirk and it caused his ears to burn up.

"Yeah, just– Just remembered I'm lactose intolerant." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, yeah. Pidge mentioned that."

Meanwhile, Shiro couldn't help but chuckle at his little brother's clear nervousness. "Don't worry, you have my permission to say yes when he asks you out on a date. Again."

Keith went silent for a moment.

That was when Shiro spoke again, his voice softer and Keith could almost see him wearing his comforting smile. "It's okay, Keith."

Something in his chest loosened and he took a deep breath. Keith already knew what it meant for he had heard it from him a million times. It was the first time he heard Shiro say it like that, though. It felt and sounded like real reassurance this time, like not only the situation was okay, but also  _himself_.

As if on cue, a couple of loud knocks were heard from Keith and Pidge's apartment door and he tensed up.

"Thanks, Shiro. I'll call you again later?"

"After you finish your papers first. Now go, entertain your guest."

Keith ignored Shiro's teasing tone, said goodbye and hanged up before walking towards the door.

He already had a guess of who the person on the other side was. And if he was right, said guest was a little bit early for his sister wasn't even home yet.

 _Here goes nothing._  Keith finally opened the door and lo and behold, he was right. He hated that he was right.

Matthew Holt stood in front of him with a warm smile, the familiar scar still clear and present across the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Keith."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back! i hope y'all still care abt this fic uwu
> 
> as usual, i didn't proof read so apologies for any grammatical errors. this is kind of a short chapter and nothing really happened that much but i promise the next chapters are going to be more eventful. i hope.
> 
> also, thank you so much for all the kudos and nice comments! i'd reply if i wasn't so awkward but aaaa i appreciate them all!


	5. Chapter 5

Quiet and Lance shouldn't ever be put in one sentence. It sounded odd.

Their footsteps and the sounds of the night were the only things filling the gloomy air. Lance had asked Pidge earlier if he could walk her home. She told him he didn't have to and that she was fine on her own yet he insisted.  _"But I want to. Plus, I made you watch my practice and wasted your time so it'd only be fair if I keep you company for a while."_

His reasoning didn't make sense though, she let him. She could use some company.

Lance stayed silent as they walked. Not completely silent because this was Lance she was talking about. Just quiet.

He'd ask her stuff and listen to her talk. But when she'd ask him something, he would just give her a strained smile and a brief answer. No long side stories, no jokes. Nothing.

"Alright. Spill." She finally broke the silence.

"What?"

"What happened back there? Your teammate said something to you before practice. You've been acting weird since then."

"Very observant."

"You're just very easy to read. And I have the people reading skill of a fucking snail so that says a lot."

For the first time since his practice, Lance cracked a genuine smile and snorted. "Yeah, it was nothing. Just temporarily lost my position as flyer."

"Temporarily." She raised a brow. "Meaning you'll get it back right?"

"Not sure about that. Coach said it was because of my injury but I knew they've wanted to replace me for quite a while now."

"The hell would you think that?"

He let out a weak chuckle, his smile straining. "So like, we have three main flyers. I was one of them and was the only guy."

"That's awesome."

"I know right? That was kind of my thing, being Altea's only male flyer. Very proud of that." It was her turn to smile when she saw his proud grin though, it faded away immedietly. "I was doing great y'know? But then this freshmen joined our team and well, he's pretty talented. Super talented, actually. He was already good at things I wasn't when I was a freshmen. He's more flexible, has better footwork, rhythm, balance, everything!"

No wild gesture, instead he kept his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Ever since he joined, they've been making him try some of my parts and stunts. My team wasn't that subtle about it. They kept praising him about how he didn't even have to try while they kept commenting about how I have to try harder and practice more than anyone in the team just to get on his level."

"Is that a bad thing?"

Lance turned to her with a puzzled look. "Well, yeah? My self esteem is crashing, Pidge. It's not fun getting replaced."

"Not that part. I mean, you practicing more. Why're you making it sound like that's something to be ashamed of?"

The tone of her voice remained the same, calm and curious, but the question somehow made the atmosphere change.

Falling once again into silence, his feet stopped moving. Pidge followed and just stood there beside him, waiting for him to answer.

He didn't. She continued.

"Being talented is good and all but just having talent doesn't really do anything. Sure, you have to work harder if you don't have it -which by the way, you absolutely do- but isn't that the point? I don't know much about dancing but from what I've seen, you got the skills. Skill takes more than just talent to have and improve, it needs practice, it needs you to  _try_." A sigh. "And you  _always_  try. Sometimes it's annoying but most of the time it's... admirable." Pidge had to look away saying that last word.

She still wasn't sure why it was so difficult for her to give him compliments without her face heating up.

Nonetheless, she really did appreciate how Lance would just... always try. He tried to study every night at the library even though he'd just end up getting distracted most of the time, he was trying to pursue his dreams of becoming a dancer while taking a medical course at the same time, tried befriending her, tried understanding all of the perplex words that would come out of her mouth whenever she'd ramble about tech.

Pidge liked that about him.

She liked all of him. Even the annoying parts.

...

Oh.

 _Oh_.

The mystery of why it was so difficult for her to give him compliments without her face heating up was then solved.

Flustered at the realization, she took a deep breath and looked at her feet to calm the pounding of her chest.

"Wow-" He interrupted her thoughts. Confusion struck her as soon as she looked back at him.

He stared at her with a look she couldn't describe. It was frustrating how she didn't know what that look meant, especially when it gave her strange sensations in her belly. She still stood by her comment about Lance being easy to read, she just haven't seen this look before.

"You really don't have a brain to mouth filter huh?" He asked fondly.

"It's a curse."

Giggling, he then gave her another enticing smile with just the right amount of softness that warmth rushed through her. Out of all of his smiles, this one definitely stood out.  _Huh. She swore she had seen that smile before._ "I like it, anyway."

* * *

 

"Want something to drink? We got coffee, peanut butter milkshake, tea."

"Coffee would be nice."

Keith knew it was a little creepy but, he couldn't help looking at him every two seconds. Not when his crush for almost 5 years looked like  _that_.

At least he could distract himself by making said crush's coffee. The bastard had a complicated coffee mix preference, he liked his sweet with a small glump of cream.

Really, the Holts were late bloomers, he knew that. Pidge didn't even have her first period until sophomore year of high school. But this, this glow up was too late, too sudden, and too much that it was shocking. Not in anyway a bad thing.

Matt's hair was longer, just right above his shoulders, his face got sharper and more masculine, he was taller, his shoulders got broader too. But his smile remained the same, playful and cute. His honey gold eyes still carried curiosity and wonder in them. The last time Keith saw him, which wasn't that long ago, Matt looked like a literal hamster. Now-

"Hamsters are cute. Meaning, you're calling me cute."

_Well, fuck. He didn't just say that last sentence out loud._

Trying to cover up the embarrassment, he let out a light laugh as he put the cup of coffee on the counter. "You wish. Here, take your diabetes."

"Thank you." The eldest Holt did just that and blew on it before taking a small sip. Keith didn't miss how his lips twitched at the taste. "I'm guessing Pidge isn't here yet?"

"Yeah. She's with a friend." Keith sat across him. "Want me to text her that you're here?"

"No, no! Let me be a surprise."

"But she already knew you were coming tonight."

"Still." Matt wore a proud smirk as if he won an argument, making Keith chuckle.  _Damn, he was in love with a loser. A hot loser, at least._

Matt took another sip of his coffee before speaking again. "So, uh, how are you guys? Pidge's been updating me twenty four seven but you- you haven't been responding to my texts lately." That last sentence was said more quietly as he fumbled with his cup.

"Sorry. I've been busy with the upcoming game."

"That's cool. Good luck, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Did you read my last text, though? I was kinda hoping I'd get an answer tonight."

Keith raised a brow. "I haven't." He was about to get his phone from his pocket when Matt suddenly spoke.

"I-! I uhm, I'm just gonna tell you what it says. Or ask you, rather, uh..." Scratching the back of his neck, Matt felt his cheeks heating up as he tried to find the right words to use. This was harder than he thought. "Listen, I'm only gonna be here until next week for our team's research. I want to spend that time not only with my little gremlin of a sister but also with you, so I was wondering if I could... take you out sometime this week?" He ended that with a shy but hopeful smile.

Keith swore his breathing stopped right then and there. Matt had asked him out before but it was through text that it was easier to say no.

But now, he was right in front of him, all awkward and red, it made Keith's heart beat so rapidly, his eyes wide, and mouth slightly opened. He was about to finally say yes but then stopped when his eyes fell back on the scar across the bridge of his nose.

"Did you ask Shiro?" The younger asked, his voice a little shaky, heart sinking slightly.

Matt blinked a couple of times before chuckling humorlessly. "Why would I ask Shiro?"

Keith only looked at him with furrowed brows and doubt in his eyes.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere grew tense.

"Keith, we broke up a year ago." Matt said with a sigh.

Keith internally prepared himself for another one these arguments.

"Yeah, but he's still your-"

"Soulmate. I know. And what about it?" He took a deep breath and continued when Keith only avoided his gaze. "Keith, we've talked about this. Shiro and I talked about this, I'm guessing you and Shiro have talked about this too. What's holding you back?"

Crossing his arms, Keith found himself thinking. The only things that were holding him back from saying yes, from finally being with his first love, were priorities and the universe. Shiro was the universe's first pick for Matt and Shiro's happiness was Keith's first priority.

It seemed wrong, or at least disrespectful, to date his brother's ex boyfriend and soulmate.

But it wasn't the early 2000s anymore, it was normal for people to date and even have families with others who weren't their soulmate, right?

Still, Matt was  _Shiro's_  soulmate.

Though, Shiro already said multiple times that it was okay, that  _he_  was okay.

So if the universe and Shiro were okay with it... Perhaps-

A warm hand gently holding his interrupted his thoughts. "Give me a chance, Keith. Give  _us_  a chance. Think of your happiness this time." Gold glassy eyes stared at him, hopeful and loving. "Please." Matt said, almost a whisper yet he still noticed how shaky it was.

With a squeeze to Matt's hand, Keith finally accepted happiness.

His happiness.

A door slam. "Keith, I-! Oh shit, Matt?"

Keith immediately pulled his hand away- an instant regret for he already missed his warmth -as Matt stood and greeted his spitting image. "H-Hey, Pidge."

Pidge's face brightened, leaving the sun jobless. She then ran to her brother and jumped into his arms. Matt lifted her up and hugged his sister so tightly as if they haven't seen each other in years. "Were you and my Keith holding hands or was I hallucinating?" She asked quietly in a teasing tone.

"I missed you too." He answered instead before pulling away.

* * *

 

Choosing the movie had always been Matt's job, because despite being a big ass nerd, the man had a fine taste in films. Tonight though, the choice was on Pidge.

His brother just kept suggesting cheesy, romantic Disney straight to DVD originals that she had to get the remote away from the 22 year old man in love with her best friend who was currently out getting some quick take outs.

"Jeez, does your sudden chaotic change of movie preference correlates with you finally getting a date or are you just in a very Disney mood?" Pidge asked as she set the bowl of popcorn on the sofa.

Matt put the bowl on the table with a click of his tongue. "I don't know. How about you tell this Lance guy that you guys are soulmates, start dating, and let's see if you'll suddenly have the urge to watch Starstruck or Geek Charming. That'd be an excellent mini research."

"How bout you shut up?"

"Rude." He gasped dramatically. "But seriously though, you should just tell him."

Unlike with other people in her life, Pidge just couldn't keep a secret from Matt. She kept him updated with the things that happened in the past months, soulmate drama and all.

Sitting beside him with a pout and a twist in her stomach at the thought of Lance rejecting her, she said. "It's not that easy, okay? He doesn't like me like that."

"But you like him?"

Her face flushed as she turned her gaze to the TV. "... Maybe." She haven't had the time to think about it deeply when she had this realization earlier, but as much as she wanted to deny it, Lance and his ten thousand smiles made her feel the strangest yet nicest things.

The little scars and bruises along with her left foot tickled slightly at the thought of him.

"How did you know it was the right thing to do?" Pidge suddenly blurted out, either out of curiosity or desperation to change the subject, she wasn't sure.

"Hmm?"

"To let go of Shiro?"

A deep breath. "I just reminded myself that perhaps the universe is wrong. If he isn't happy with me, if  _we_  aren't happy, then maybe I'm just not the yee to his haw." Pidge couldn't help but snort at the meme reference. "We shouldn't force ourselves to be together just because the universe miscalculated and picked the wrong brogane. But the universe isn't always wrong."

Hugging her legs, careful with her injured foot, she asked. "What if it is this time, with my soulmate and I?"

"And why would you think that?"

For a second, the soft look on Lance's eyes when he found out about his "soulmate" flashed through her mind. Her chest tightened.

"Because he wouldn't be happy with me."

Matt kept himself from rolling his eyes, only because of how broken her sister looked, and sighed instead. "He doesn't even know yet."

"He seems very much okay with being someone else's soulmate, the universe must've fucked up again for sure."

"What if the universe isn't wrong? You know what dad says, if you keep worrying about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance of doing something great. In this case, if you're so afraid of it being wrong then you might miss a chance of being with someone great."

A small smile appeared on her face at the mention of their father's familiar advice. Although, she missed the weight of his hand on her shoulder, a gesture that would always come with every one of his dad advice.

Those words comforted her, nonetheless.

Pidge took a deep breath, making a decision. "You're right. I should probably tell him." She meant it this time. Pidge then made an internal promise that she would try. Soon. Her lips formed a small smile. "Thanks, Matt."

As if on cue, Keith entered the apartment with two bags of take outs in his hand, holding his helmet with the other. "So what are we watching?"

"A Cinderella Story."

"Matt, no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bet you thought i've abandoned this like every single one of my multi chapter fics lol well you're wrong :)
> 
> anyway, sorry for the slow updates. i'm a senior and i'm tryna get that education y'know? do leave a comment or kudos if you like this chapter. those stuff keeps me from hating my writing, giving me motivation as well. thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> proof reading who?
> 
> my writing is still a bit wonky so comments and criticisms are very much welcome :) also, i'm a slow writer AND a lazy writer so fast/weekly updates are impossible.


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